Guilt
by ensiathe3rd
Summary: It wasn't like they didn't have a choice. They did. And they choose this. Now they just have to deal with the fall out. They would take the guilt, self-loathing, isolation, and whatever else may come. They'd be glad for it, because their other option was to let her die. And well, they weren't about to let that happen. Now with prequel in the second chapter
1. Chapter 1

If Blake was being honest, she was actually shocked at the restraint Yang was showing. Nothing was being punched or set ablaze and she wasn't shouting at people. She might have been wearing a whole in the floor with all of her pacing, and there was no doubt that she would be burning to the touch, her eyes might have been glowing a deadly red for the better part of three hours with no indication of stopping, and she might have been talking under her breath for the majority of that time, but really it was the best they could hope for. At this point, whatever destruction Yang felt necessary to perform, well, no one would exactly blame her. Blake couldn't even be sure she would try to stop her partner if Yang started up on a rampage. Blake sure as anything knew she wouldn't stop her if Yang turned against her. Anger seemed like a fair response. Even she was angry, though no one would guess it from her sitting across the room with her knees pulled up to her chest. Though anger wasn't the thing that bashed against her chest, it was disgust. Pure and total disgust _. It had to be done_. Though no matter how many times she told herself this, she still couldn't stop how disgusted she felt at her actions. Yang probably felt the same way. No matter who actually disserved her anger, the Grimm, the White Fang, fate, even Blake herself, there was no one Yang hated more in this moment than herself. And it broke Blake's heart to see her friend like this.

They were all exhausted. The mission had been a long and taxing one and the night was far from over. Not that any of them really would sleep that night if given the option. They hadn't even cleaned up when they got back. And they were all covered in a mix of sweat, dirt, and blood. They were all painfully aware of it, but none of them could muster the initiative to leave. Blake rose her hands to her face and flexed her fingers. The dried blood cracked slightly at the motion but other than that it clung as if a second skin to her own. This wasn't the first time she had blood on her hands and darkly, she knew it wouldn't be the last, but this was different. Numbly, she wondered if she would ever be truly able to wash it away this time. The thought of her hands forever stained red sent a wave of nausea through her.

Her eyes drifted up to Yang who had stopped pacing to stare horrified at her own hands. But unlike Blake, her hands weren't red, they were black. Stained with the reminder of what she had done. Who knew blood could burn? And Blake's stomach did another flip. It was her fault, it was all her fault. _It_ _ **had**_ _to be done._ If given the chance, she probably would have done it again, even knowing that this was the outcome. In the grand scheme of things, it was a small price to pay. A price she'd be more than willing to pay. She just hoped Yang understood. She needed Yang to understand. There was no other way, no alternative solution. If they hadn't done it…

"You did what was right. You know that, right?" Weiss' whisper from next to her reminded her of her of the other girl's presence. The heiress had been the most put together out of all of them, long ranged attacks didn't require getting down and dirty on the front lines. Not that Blake bemoaned the girl for it, her long range had saved Blake's life quite a few times, but what Blake wouldn't do for her hands to be as clean as Weiss' were.

She spoke in a whisper as well as to not disturb Yang who had gone back to pacing, "Doesn't matter, there are going to be consequences."

"There are always consequences, and we'll deal with them." Weiss took in a strangled breath of air. Blake turned to the girl, and saw their ice queen was shaking slightly with her hands clutched in fists, "The consequences of doing nothing are unthinkable. So whatever the consequences are for this, I'm glad for them."

"She's going to hate us." There she said it. Her worst fear of the outcome of this night. The thought broke her heart and her eyes burned with tears that broke free and escaped down her cheeks.

A light watery chuckle answered her, "Give her more credit than that. After everything we've been through, don't dismiss her just yet."

"I want to believe you. And I wish I could." It was something that clawed within her to want to take solace in Weiss' words, but there was something, probably guilt, that stopped her.

Weiss didn't try to convince her, but sighed, "Such a shame. Just wait and see."

"Yang hates me."

Weiss acquiesced, "Maybe a little bit. But I think she hates herself more."

"What have I done?"

"You convinced Yang to save Ruby's life. Nothing else matters."

"But I…"

" _Nothing_ else matters." And for a moment, Blake believed that Weiss truly thought that.

Blake would have liked to combat this further, but the doors opened and a doctor walked in. They all moved as fast as they could to meet her. "First and foremost, she's alive and going to stay that way." A collective sigh of relief past through them, and the doctor looked between Yang and Blake, "That little stunt you pulled saved her life. Don't you forget that. As for the initial wound, we believe that once Miss Rose's aura takes over, she should be up on her feet in a matter of days. But at the very least until then she is not to be straining herself."

"We'll do our best to keep her calm."

"See that you do. Despite your timely interference, she did manage to lose a fair amount of blood and do enough damage to be going on with." The doctor looked sadly at them all, "The burns, however, are a different story." Yang made a strangled noise in the back of her throat. "They saved her life, of that there is no doubt, but they were not made by normal fire and as such her aura is having difficulty healing them. We aren't sure if that's a sign of her low aura simply trying to triage what damage it can, and leaving the rest for when there is no chance of death and her aura is higher. Semblance induced burns are always tricky and the effect they have tends to vary from person to person. The next few days are going to be very telling one way or another. But rest assured Miss Rose is receiving the best care possible." She looked each of them in the eye. Blake turned her head over to Yang who looked ready to vomit and was as pale as Ruby normally was. "Any questions."

"When can we see her?" Weiss seemed to be the only person capable of forming words right now. Blake didn't think she could, and there was no way that Yang would be able.

"You may see her as soon as you're ready, but she is sleeping and the doctors would prefer it if she stays that way for a while. No waking her and when she awakes, no straining her."

"Yes, mam" Blake nodded, Yang just stared.

The doctor had them follow her down various hallways. Blake was in sensory overload, she never liked the smell of hospitals. It burned at her nose, but at the very least she couldn't smell the blood on her. They came to a door and were allowed in. The small room held their little rose sleeping away. From where they were, for a moment, they could believe that was all that was happening. But Ruby was too pale, even by her usual standards, and the only color that existed beside white in the room was the small girl's dark black and red hair. It was dirty and plastered to her face with sweat. But it was a relief from all of this pale nothingness. Yang and Blake held back toward the door, while Weiss went more inside, but not to where Ruby was sleeping. The doctor left them, saying she had to call Ruby and Yang's father and had reports to fill out and she would be back later to check in.

They weren't alone for even gone a minute before Weiss turned on them, "Okay, I've held this in long enough, but now you have seen her and know she's going to be alright. Go clean up."

"But I…"

"I know you mean well, Yang, but if she wakes up and the both of you still have her blood on your hands, she is going to freak out. And that wouldn't be good for her." Yang shoulders slumped, and Weiss took on a gentler tone, "I'll look over her while you're gone, but when she wakes she's going to want her big sister so the longer we talk about this the longer she will have to wait if she wakes up. Please, just get cleaned up, clear your head, and come back ready to be her big sister" Yang nodded numbly and walked away with fist clenched angrily at her side. Weiss looked at Blake, "You too."

Blake looked back at the doorway, "What do I say to make this right?"

Weiss looked sadly at her, "I don't know, this isn't something they prepare you for in training. But…" Weiss looked back at Ruby, "She's going to need Yang, and right now you're probably the only person she'll listen to. Either way, you need to get the blood off too. It's not going to help Ruby, and it certainly isn't doing you any favors." Blake nodded dumbly and stared at her red hands, "Hey, our little dolt will be asking for the pair of you as soon as she wakes up. You go take care of yours, and I'll take care of mine until you get back." Weiss smiled encouragingly at her and with heavy footfalls, Blake left in search of Yang.

The rambunctious teenager wasn't actually hard to find. Down the hall at the nearest bathroom she could find. Yang was curled on the floor with her back against the wall and her knees drawn to her chest. Her shoulders shook and glowing hair indicated that Blake shouldn't touch her. "Yang?"

"Leave me alone." The voice was strained, angry, and resentful.

Blake walked over and sat in front of her partner, "Come on Yang, you can't hide here forever." Though Blake would have been a hypocrite if she blamed Yang for wanting to try.

"Why not? It would serve me right."

Blake could've cried, "Stop it, you didn't…"

That got her attention, and Yang lifted her head and Blake was faced with two glowing blood red eyes. Blake tried not to flinch at the anger radiating out of them. "You want to know what 'I didn't?!'" Her words burned with pure furry, "I didn't protect her, I didn't keep her safe, I didn't keep my promise. I hurt her, oh Oum, I hurt her." She brought her hands to the side of her head and gripped at her hair. Tears flooded her eyes, and they turned back to the lilac that Black knew so well, her hair stopped glowing. Probably low aura more so that Yang actually being calm.

Blake hesitantly reached out and took one of Yang's hands in hers. It was hot, but Blake didn't think it was burning her. "You had no choice." Blake felt tears run down her face. She needed Yang to understand, "I didn't give you a choice. Please Yang, this isn't your fault."

"It doesn't matter. Ruby won't let me come near her after this."

"Yang, you know that's not true." Blake wished to every power there was that she was right.

"I do. I've seen it before," Yang's voice dropped to a whisper and if Blake was human, she was certain she wouldn't have heard, "She's been hurt before, she closes herself off."

Blake didn't want to ask what had happened. The very thought sickened her, but that wasn't the point of this conversation. "It's not the same, you saved her life. She'll know you had no choice, she won't be afraid, not of you of all people." Now if only Blake could convince herself Ruby would feel the same about her.

Yang lifted their hands and pressed them together, black to red. Yang's fingers were thicker but Blake's were longer by a hair. Yang looked her dead in the eye with all of the innocence she still had left, "How do we go on from here?"

"I don't know."

"I keep seeing her, hearing you, and I hate myself for wanting to take it back, because I know it was right but it feels so wrong."

Blake closed her eyes, "I can still smell her blood, it's on my hands, I can feel every pained breath she took under my fingers, and I hate myself for not being able to find another way to save you this pain."

"You were right to yell at me like you did."

"I still wish I didn't have to."

"So do I." Yang interlocked their fingers, "She's going to be okay?" It didn't sound like she was going to believe anything anyone said, but she needed to hear it.

"She's going to be okay." Blake smiled as best she could through the tears.

Yang weakly returned it for a moment before her face crumbled and she launched herself at Blake. The force of it nearly knocked her over. Blake felt strong arms wrap around her, and water fall onto her shoulder. Blake hugged Yang back as the blond girl cried into her shoulder. "I almost lost her."

Blake swallowed a lump in her throat, "I know."

"I can't lose her."

"I know."

"I promised I would keep her safe."

"I know. And you have, she's going to be okay. "

"I'm scared."

Of all the useless words to respond, there was something, "So am I." Blake pushed against Yang until they were face to face, tear stained lilac met tear stained gold. "But whatever happens, I am going to fight for that girl, to be in her life, and be worthy to call myself her friend. And I know I can't do it alone." Blake smiled even though everything in her wanted to just break down, "Be my partner?"

Yang chuckled lightly "You know it."

Blake grinned and made to stand bringing a willing Yang with her, "Come on, let's get cleaned up. I think we've kept our little speed demon waiting long enough."

Yang smiled and rolled her eyes, the effect felt normal even through the clear tear tracks marking her face. "Yeah," Yang chuckled, "Ruby was never one for patience."

"Neither are you."

"Runs in the family, what can I do?" Yang's chuckle turned into a sob. Well, they lasted fifteen seconds.

"She _will_ be okay." Maybe if Blake said it enough she could make herself believe it.

Yang closed her eyes and breathed deeply to keep herself in check. She opened them and nodded to Blake, "Right," Yang's voice was forced but it was the best Blake could hope for.

Blake helped Yang out of Ember Celica and her gloves as Yang's hands were shaking too much for her to be effective at anything. The gauntlets would be washed thoroughly as soon as possible and the gloves were just thrown out. And through fumbling hands and a closeness that wasn't exactly necessary, but was needed, they scrubbed, washed, and rinsed the blood from each other's hands. Yang's was considerably harder, with the blood basically melted to her skin, and the only solace was that Yang's gloves had protected most of the skin itself. They both cried as the red turned to pink and vanished down the drain. After they had finished, the only red left on Blake's hands was the irritation from all of the scrubbing and the temperature of the water.

They washed three times over, just to be sure, but after that there was no stalling. Blake turned to Yang, "You ready?"

Yang closed her eyes for a moment before looking back at Blake, "As I'll ever be."

Together they walked back to Ruby's room. They entered quietly to as not wake their sleeping companion. Weiss, not hearing them was affectionately brushing hair off of Ruby's face, smiling sadly. She noticed them and didn't even look abashed like she normally did whenever they caught her being affectionate with their little rose. "No change, I'm afraid."

Yang nodded and took a seat by the bed, and lifted her hand as if to take Ruby's by hesitated and returned the appendage to her lap. Yang's face fell in something akin to shame. Blake walked over to the wall and slid down it. It was cold, but the floor was always more comfortable than chairs. And they were going to be here for a while. Together the three teammates kept silent vigil.

Hours passed and a sharp hiss of pain and a groan brought them all to stunning awareness. Blake rose to her feet just in time to see silver eyes open. They looked tired and confused under a fog of pain. Blake swallowed uncomfortably. But Ruby did not have eyes for her, only the blonde sitting next to her, "Yang?"

Yang smiled but her voice was tight when she said, "Hey, baby sis, I'm here."

"Missed you." The girl probably didn't even know where she was.

"I missed you too, but we're together now." Blake could hear Yang trying to convince herself that everything was okay.

"Yeah," Ruby's breathing was off, and she took a painful sounding gasp of air that they all flinched at, "I got hurt?" She said it as if she was confirming the day of the week.

"You did, Rubes, but you're going to be fine."

"Can I believe you tomorrow?" Ruby said it through a pained smile that turned into a grimace. She reached out a hand to Yang, who reached out but as soon as their fingers touched Yang flinched and pulled back. A confused and sad look passed over Ruby's face, "Yang, what's…" Silver eyes widened and pure terror sculpted her face. She pulled her hand back and put it over the place where they all knew the wound was, "Oh, no." Blake didn't even think Ruby could get any paler. "No, no." Yang got up and backed away from Ruby, hand over her moth and tears running down her face. From her stance, Yang was torn between running to her sister and running out the door.

Weiss seemed to be the only one capable of doing anything and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Hey, hey, it's okay, you're safe."

Ruby shook her head, and surprisingly reached a hand back out to Yang, "Please," The very word seeped out laced with pain, "Don't leave me." Yang stared horrified at the hand that was offered to her. Blake held her breath. Tears spilled down everyone's faces, "Please, Yang," Ruby's expression crumpled in agony, and not half a second later Yang had Ruby's hand in her own.

Yang was sobbing at this point, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Ruby visibly relaxed once Yang had taken hold of her hand and she smiled through tears running down her cheeks. She brought their joined hands to her face. Yang was trembling, and from what Blake could see of her partner's face, the girl had turned a shade of green "You saved my life."

"I hurt you."

"Would you have done it if you didn't fear for my life?"

"No, never. Not ever, no matter what."

"Then what else matters? I'm going to be fine." Ruby furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Weiss, "I'm going to be fine, right?"

Weiss chuckled lightly, "Yes, thanks to them."

Ruby turned back to Yang and smiled, "See?" Out of the corner of her eye, Blake caught Weiss sending her a smug smile. Blake shrugged and smiled back. Relief filling her veins. "I love you, no matter what."

"I love you too,"

Ruby smiled wider and let out a laugh. Immediately her face fell and she hissed in a breath, "Hurts."

"I know, but only until your aura gets back up to normal." Yang's expression set as if she was contemplating whether or not she could actually punch Ruby's pain as if it personally offended her. No, it was as if it personally offended Ruby. Helplessness wasn't something Yang dealt well with, especially when it came to Ruby, and the hours of helplessness before now had really added up. Blake worried what kind of toll it would take.

Ruby's breathing was off, like she had just run an hour at top speeds. Blake really didn't like how erratic it was. She took a painful sounding gasp of air that they all flinched at. "Won't be singing for a while, though." She shrugged as best she could. Weiss rolled her eyes.

Yang made a noise that sounded like chuckling, but Blake was sure it was anything but, "Don't worry, silly girl, you're probably still better than Blake."

"Hey." The mock offense was easy, normal, Blake could give them both that.

A slight laugh turned into a painful sounding cough. Blake walked forward so she was close to Ruby, as the older three shared a worried glance. "Don't worry, Blakey, we love you regardless."

Blake forced a smile to her face, it actually wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. Ruby saying that she still loved Blake meant too much to put in words. She choked a bit on the air, "Good to hear." Blake surely hoped Ruby couldn't hear her heart in her throat. The sound had drowned out Yang's rapidly thumping heart from Blake's own ears.

Ruby made an attempt to sit up, her entire face contorting in pain as she struggled. Weiss held her down, "Hold on, the doctors said to not strain yourself."

"What do they know?"

"They're doctors."

"And Professor Port's a teacher." Yang smiled smugly and Blake grinned as Weiss threw her arms up in surrender. For a moment, being happy was easy. Their leader had that way about her. It didn't last long, but it was there. Still, Ruby didn't push herself any further and settled back into the bed. Ruby smiled lightly before turning to Yang, "So I gotta know, did I win?"

"Win what?"

"The fight, you know the one that got all stabby." Ruby furrowed her brows and ran a hand over where the wound was, "Or was it slashy? I can't really remember. A lot's kinda fuzzy." Considering how much pain she was in Blake wasn't surprised. In fact, as far as Blake was concerned the less Ruby remembered about the confrontation the better. "Did I win?" Blake smiled sadly at the more than probable fact that the only thing Ruby really cared about was whether or not she won the fight that sent her to the hospital. That fact also made her sick to her stomach as well as how easily Ruby brought it up, but happy thoughts. Focus on the positive.

Yang laughed gently, "Yeah, you won." Her voice was strained with unshed tears.

Ruby tilted her head at Yang, "Liar."

"You'll win next time?" Yang neglected to mention that there would be no "next time." Not if any of them had anything to say about it. But the dark part of Blake's mind reminded her that they hardly ever had a say in their own lives.

Another pained breath and a weary smile, "Better. Though I do sense some doubt in your voice. Work on that."

"Aye, aye, captain." Ruby smiled as her eyes started to drift closed. Yang frowned, but quickly forced a smile to her face, "How about you go to sleep, kiddo?"

"'M not…"

Blake stepped forward, "Yes, you are. Go to sleep, Ruby. I promise at least one of us will be here when you wake."

Ruby strained to focus on Blake's face, "Blake?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"No need." Also, the thought of being thanked for begging Yang to burn Ruby made her sick to her stomach, "I'm just glad you're okay." And she was, she really, really was.

Ruby gave her a strange look, "I heard you," Her voice was barely above a whisper, but Blake could hear her just fine. And she knew what Ruby heard. "I didn't think you could ever beg like that." Blake wasn't sure what to feel. On one hand, Ruby clearly understood how desperate they were, and Blake wouldn't have to justify her actions. It brought a sense of relief. On the other hand, Blake knew Ruby would be destressed because Blake was destressed, and Blake didn't want to be the cause of any more suffering on her friends account. Ruby winced as she tried to breathe normally. Blake ran a hand through Ruby's hair, as it was all she could do against the onslaught of pain. Ruby leaned into her touch and closed her eyes. "Please, I never want to hear that sound again." Yang made a strangled noise in the back of her throat.

Blake knew she could never promise her leader that. She hoped she never had to, she didn't ever want it to be necessary, she still couldn't promise that she wouldn't, but there was an easy compromise, "I never want to see you in that state ever again."

Ruby winced through a smile, "I'll try not to be stabbed again."

"You do that. And avoid any other life threatening wounds while you're at it. Please." Weiss and Yang both made a sound of assent.

"Meh. I'll do my best."

It was far from a promise, but Blake understood their line of work. It wasn't something worth promising. It would more than likely be broken before the end of their careers.

Weiss scoffed, "You'd better do better than that." Ruby looked sheepishly at her partner, Weiss sighed, "But that's a discussion for later," And Blake didn't see the heiress to the Schnee empire, she saw a young woman who had just come within an inch of losing her best friend. The girl was much paler than normal and rigid in her stance with a hand on Ruby's arm that neither girl seemed to notice. One could only assume that it was her years of training that were keeping Weiss from completely breaking down in front of them. "You get some sleep."

Ruby nodded, "Yes mam," Ruby looked toward Yang, "good night." Silver eyes closed and Ruby's head sagged.

"Good night." Yang continued to hold Ruby's hand. When they were certain she was asleep, Blake backed up and once more found solace leaning against the wall. They wouldn't be sleeping this night. Their vigil over the girl that meant so much to all of them gave them comfort. As long as Ruby's chest continued to rise and fall, they could live with whatever they had to do to keep it that way. The nightmares would come later, of that there was little doubt. But they won tonight, they won.

 **AN; and that's that, hope you enjoyed, please review if you have time. ensia**


	2. Chapter 2

Quite a few things went wrong that night. Some of it couldn't have been helped, they had learned to roll with it. Some of it could have been. Blake was certain she knew what "abandoned" meant, but someone clearly disagreed with her. A long night, a long mission, a long fight, they were all low on aura, ammo, dust, and patience. Yang was beating everyone stupid enough to challenge her to a pulp. Their opponents froze in place thanks to Weiss' glyphs. Random attackers would fall to the ground seemingly blown over by a strong gust of wind while the scent of rose's hung in the air. Blake fought well enough to keep up with her more flashy teammates; the combination of her semblance and natural night vision allowed her to hold her own quite effectively. But they couldn't keep it up forever and were slowing down. Unfortunately, what their opponents lacked in skill, they made up for in numbers.

Their enemies just kept coming.

But they were winning.

Blake would one day contemplate whatever power decided that they weren't allowed to simply win. The fight had taken most of her focus to the point where she just had to trust that her teammates could handle themselves.

She didn't see what happened. However somehow, through all the din, she heard the distinctive clunk as Crescent Rose fell lifeless to the ground, and the horrible thud that followed. If she tried, she might have found the scent of warm copper among the gun smoke, fire, and the lingering scent of roses.

There was a heartbeat's hesitation and Blake was off. She dispatched her last opponent with what could arguably be called excessive force, but she wasn't paying much attention anyway. _Get to Ruby_ was the only thought that she could entertain for any length of time. She couldn't afford anything else. Not that anything else actually mattered. Not now. Maybe it took her a few seconds to make it to her leader's side, maybe, it felt longer, too long. Her heart thudded in her chest. Ruby was at the very least conscious as she tried in vain to pick herself off the ground. She failed and fell back down with a thud and now that Blake was close enough to hear it, a whimper.

Blake made quick work of the few morons who thought they could attack Ruby when she was already down. She held no mercy or kindness for those who would go for a downed opponent. Not in the slightest. Also, whoever hurt Ruby might have been among their numbers, and Blake took great pleasure in taking them down. Excessive maybe, but that could be dealt with later.

When Blake finally dropped to her knees beside her teammate, Ruby looked up at her. All color had drained from the already pale girl's face and her silver eyes shined as they met Blake's gold ones. Ruby tried to smile at her but it looked more like a grimace, "Hey Blake." Ruby bit her lip as she pulled her elbows underneath her, "G-go back to help, the…the others." Ruby shook her head furiously and breathed deeply. Another whimper left her lips, "I'm 'kay, really." Apparently, Blake and Ruby had different definitions of the word "okay." Blake heard the Ruby's racing heart among the chaos, above her own.

"Yang and Weiss are _fine,_ you are not," Well, she knew at least half of what she said was true, but that issue could come up later.

Ruby clearly ignored her and tried to pick herself up again. Every part of her trembled, and Blake could smell the scent of copper mix with the scent of roses and weapons that Ruby carried around. Blake couldn't make out where Ruby was bleeding through the younger girl's cloak. Ruby's arms gave out rather quickly, and another thud and whimper followed. Her hand went to her side and she closed her eyes and bit her lip. The white skin of her hand quickly turned dark red. Blake quickly forced Ruby to her back despite her friend's scarily weak protests. "'m fine, Blake, go…" Ruby cried out as Blake ignored her and pressed Ruby's own cloak against the wound.

"Sorry." Blake whispered, not so much for trying to stop the bleeding, but for hurting the young reaper more than she already was and getting blood on her cloak. Mainly the latter. Ruby would definitely be more upset about that.

Ruby grimaced and hissed a few breaths through her teeth, "You're good." She sounded drowsy, and Blake had mixed feelings about Ruby ceasing to fight her, "How-how are the others?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Blake registered the once deafening noises of the battle calming around her. She didn't need to look, they had won this one. Now it was her job to make sure they didn't lose, "They're fine. Just finishing up." She could only hope that Oum didn't make a liar out of her.

Ruby coughed painfully as she tried to suck in air that for one reason or another wasn't coming. She wasn't coughing blood, which Blake took as a good sign, or at least not another bad one. The young speed demon's muscles spasmed under Blake's hands through the cloak, "Good." She hissed, "Good."

Blake's hands felt warm and wet as excess blood seeped through the already red material. Her heart jumped to her throat and clogged her airways. Blake shifted her attention for a moment back to Ruby's face. Dull silver eyes threatened to close, "Ruby, hey Ruby," The eyes sharpened slightly and focused on Blake, "I know it's not fair, but I need you to stay awake for me. Okay?"

Ruby shook her head and blinked at Blake, "Yeah, righ', sorry." Her voice was quiet and slurred, but she was still conscious and Blake could work with that.

"That's it." Blake did her best to smile at Ruby, but with her heart in her throat it may not have looked all that comforting, "Come on, keep talking to me."

"Sure, 'bout wha'?"

"Anything, um," Blake racked her brain, really she didn't care what topic Ruby spoke about as long as she _was_ speaking. In her peripherals, she saw Ruby's fallen weapon, "tell me how to change Crescent Roses blade." The bleeding wasn't stopping.

Ruby made a noise of discomfort as Blake pressed even harder into her side, "Yeah, okay, um, you hafta unscrew the three screws on…"

"Blake!" Yang shouted to her from somewhere behind Blake. The silence that echoed around them told her the battle was finally over. But Blake's heart continued to hammer in her chest regardless.

Blake's eyes didn't leave her task, "Over here!" She lowered her voice back for Ruby, "Hear that? Yang's fine, she's coming, just keep talking."

Ruby flashed her a small grateful smile before her face fell once more, her breathing more labored than ever, "Weiss?"

There was a distinct set of clicks somewhere to the left that was getting closer and closer and joining the hard thuds from behind them, "She's coming too." Concern for their friends, if it kept Ruby talking, Blake could let the girl worry.

"They're 'kay?"

"Yes," Well, okay enough to run, but Blake wasn't about to make that distinction. Ruby's blood seeped through her fingers. Blake's stomach did a flip. She turned back to her hands. They weren't in any position for Blake to do anything but keep pressure on the wound. Until better help could come, Blake had to hope it worked.

There was a gasp and a skid as Yang slid the rest of the way toward them. Blake didn't look at her partner, she was barely keeping it together as it was, and she didn't need to see the look of utter devastation that was surely covering Yang's features. "Ruby?"

"Hey, Yang, did…" Ruby swallowed painfully and Blake hoped that the reason for the subdued shaking was because her friend had calmed down with the presence of her sister, "Did we win?"

There was a soft clap as Blake assumed Yang took Ruby's hand, "Yeah, we won." Yang's voice held no waver, but there was no pride to it, like she was telling Ruby that she had remembered to get milk at the store. Years of practice being a big sister made Yang very good at keeping Ruby calm and happy, no matter what Yang herself might be feeling. "You seemed to have gotten a bit ruffed up though." Apparently Blake and Yang had different definitions of the phrase, "a bit," but Blake didn't think bringing it up was a wise idea. Anyway, Yang could keep Ruby talking and Blake could rack her brain for any medical knowledge that would stop Ruby bleeding out on the ground.

Somewhere to her left she heard Weiss' "Shnee" voice requesting evacuation protocol. Or else, Weiss' definition of "requesting," which at this moment, Blake liked better than her own. Ruby laughed quietly, "I'm 'kay, Blake's just being fussy."

Blake had other things to worry about than correcting her friend, such as the soft pitter of Ruby's heart being trumped by Yang's banging against her chest and her own beating in her ears. Yang swallowed thickly, but chuckled, "I'm sure she is, but that's just 'cause she cares." Ruby made a sound of agreement, and Blake tried to swallow the lump in her throat. It would do no one any good for her to break down now.

A cold hand fell on her shoulder as Weiss joined them on the ground, "Any outside help is ten minutes out. What do you need?"

Warm sticky blood continued to coat her hands, they didn't have ten minutes, "I…I need her to stop bleeding." Blake's eyes burned and her chest constricted as she realized just how much she _needed_ Ruby to stop bleeding. She just didn't know how.

"Tired."

"I know, you just have to…Ruby?" Yang snapped several times in succession, "Ruby, come on sis," Blake turned to Yang, at this point she didn't need to watch Ruby bleed, she felt it well enough. Her partner was tapping her sister's cheek in a desperate attempt for her silver eyes to open once more. It wasn't working. "Ruby! Wake up, please."

Blake couldn't breathe, "That's not helping." And there was nothing she hated more right now.

Yang looked sharply at her, "Then tell me what will." The air heated up around them, "How do I help her?" There was a distinct growl to Yang's voice, but Blake knew her partner well enough to know that it was more due to her own helplessness than she was angry at Blake.

Or at least she hoped.

"I don't know, I…" the air was burning around them as Yang's semblance fought against her. Then the answer hit Blake faster than Ruby going top speed. It wasn't ideal and it would cause a whole mess of other problems, but at this point, it was better than Ruby bleeding to death. She could deal with the guilt and the psychological and possibly physical scarring later. She turned toward her white haired teammate, "Weiss, how much fire dust do you have?"

"You don't mean…?" Weiss sounded frightened, her face pale.

Blake, nor Ruby, had the time for it, "She is bleeding out faster than help is coming. YES! I mean it. Tell me, how much fire dust you have."

Weiss nodded quickly, "Right," She pulled Mysterner out and spun the dust chamber. And then proceeded to say a very unladylike swear word. Weiss dropped her weapon and grabbed her pouch. Upon revealing its contents, there was no red amongst the purple, grey, and white. "None." Weiss' blue eyes fogged over, but she kept her voice from breaking, "I don't have anything left." Weiss' eyes drifted from Blake's to where Ruby lay.

Yang's voice was quiet, "What now?"

Blake closed her eyes for a moment. The obvious answer was staring her in the face, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She had intended to bear the burden on her lonesome, but now it would only work if Yang bore it with her. She opened her eyes and met Yang's wonderfully lilac eyes, "How hot can you make your semblance go?"

There was a distinct spark of understanding as Yang comprehended what she was just asked, "What? No, I-I can't, that'll hurt her, I…"

Blake understood, it was one thing to cauterize the wound with a piece of metal and some dust, it was another thing entirely to ask Yang to do it to her sister with her bare hands. That didn't change the fact that it needed to be done. Something broke in Blake, and she couldn't hold herself together. "I know. Please believe me, I know." Hot tears scarred her face as they ran down it.

Yang's tears fell to match, "I…"

"She's going to die!" Blake's voice cracked as a sob broke through her lips. Yang flinched at Blake's screamed declaration, there was no avoiding the truth now. "Help isn't coming fast enough, and she's going to die before it comes if we can't stop the bleeding," Blake dropped her volume, she lacked the strength for it, "Please, don't let her die." Growing up the way she did, Blake was no stranger to begging, but she'd never forget how the words tasted on her lips. How much what she asked would cost if Yang agreed, how much more it would cost if she didn't, "Please, Yang, don't- don't let her die."

Yang had turned a disgusting green, and maybe Blake should care about how low of a blow that was, maybe later. Now, she didn't care at all as long as Yang did what Blake asked of her. Weiss had gone silent, watching them. Yang's eyes begged Blake for another option.

"Please Yang, no one believes you would want to do anything to hurt her, but we need you to, _she_ needs you to. _Please._ "

Yang breathed deeply and nodded, tears still freely running down her face. She put her hands over Blake's, staining them red, "What do I do?"

Blake made quick silent work of removing her hands from under Yang's and moving the cloak aside so Yang was pressing directly on the wound, "Fire up." And though Blake used the vernacular definition, in that moment, Blake realized that, to her in this moment, it had another. And in her head she couldn't stop it from meaning, "I'm sorry."

For all the good it did, Blake closed her eyes against the sight. It didn't stop the smell or sound of burning flesh. It didn't stop her from hearing the faint whimper that escaped Ruby's lips or the sob that escaped Yang's. It hurt like a physical blow. Ruby's blood was still on her hands. She didn't know how long it went on before Weiss' voice cut through the turmoil, "Stop." Blake opened her eyes to the sight of Ruby's charred blood covering Yang's hands. And the smoke rising from where they remained pressed into Ruby's side. Weiss put a hand on Yang's shoulder, "You can stop now." Her voice was gentle and simplistic, like she was talking to a child. Yang's eyes still burned the dark red that came with using her semblance, but she nodded slowly as though trying to understand the language Weiss was speaking and if the girl actually meant what she thought she did.

Slowly but surely, Yang removed her hands from Ruby's side revealing the horrible burn that covered most of it. From what Blake could tell, the bleeding had indeed stopped, but it hurt to breathe and her vision was going spotty. Shock. She shook her head to break through the fog, the last thing Yang and Weiss needed was her passing out on them. Yang stared heartbrokenly at Ruby's side, trembling, and there was nothing Blake could say to make this better. Nothing in all of Remnant would make this go away.

Weiss let out a breath of relief as she pressed her fingers to Ruby's throat. "She's alive." A moment to watch Ruby's chest slowly but surely rise and fall, proved that Blake and Weiss held the same definition of "alive." Blake's shoulders sagged as she fell forward onto her blood stained hands. It was worth it. All the blow back that was bound to come, it was worth it.

 **An; so as I was writing "Guilt" I had this vague idea of what had happened before hand. Ruby got hurt and was bleeding out, and Blake convinced Yang to use her semblance to cauterize the wound. I didn't have anything really concrete beyond that and I tried to give context clues that hinted at what happened. However some people were confused and wanted me to be more clear. So here it is. Still kind of vague, but definitely more fleshed out. I hope it's okay. And that's that, hope you enjoyed, please leave a review if you have time. I'd love to know what you think. Ensia**


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